Japanese Apple Supplier Commits to 100% Clean Energy

Ibiden, an Apple component supplier, is pledging to power all of its Apple-related manufacturing with 100 percent renewable energy, Cupertino announced in a press release.

Ibiden’s pledge makes it the first company in Japan to make the move toward 100 percent renewable energy, and it’s part of a larger effort by Apple to transition its manufacturing partners to renewable power sources. Apple and its manufacturing partners will generate over 2.5 billion kilowatt hours per year of clean energy by the end of 2018, the company announced. “We’re proud to partner with suppliers like Ibiden who recognize that renewable energy investments are good for the environment and good for business,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives.

Ibiden, which works on integrated circuitry and chip packages for Apple devices, is based in Ogaki, Japan. As far of the solar initiative, Ibiden will begin to invest in 20 renewable energy facilities — including a floating solar photovoltaic system near Nagoya, Japan. All together, Ibiden’s projects are estimated to produce over 12-megawatts of solar energy — more than the company needs for Apple-related operations. The excess could aid Japan’s wider efforts to limit carbon emissions.

“These new innovative clean energy investments demonstrate our commitment to doing business responsibly and economically,” said Ibiden’s Kyoichi Yamanaka, the company’s managing director of environment. “We’re pleased to partner with Apple to lead the way in helping Japan meet its clean energy goals.”

Apple is well known for their commitment to clean and renewable energy. Just last month, the company announced a new plan to build an additional 200 megawatts of solar energy for a data center in Reno, Nevada. And Greenpeace has named the Cupertino giant “the most environmentally friendly tech company in the world” for three consecutive years.

“As we continue our push to power our global operations with 100 percent renewable energy, it is more important than ever that we help our manufacturing partners make the same transition to cleaner sources, and set an example for other companies to follow,” Jackson said.